THE smartphone industry is bound to consolidate as the heavy investments required to remain competitive mean that, in the long-run, only a handful of firms can make money, the consumer chief of Huawei Technologies said late Sunday.

Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business group, said anyone at this stage in the decade-old industry’s history that had less than 10 percent market share was losing money.

“In the future, only three to four vendors can survive, maybe only less than four,” Yu told reporters following a product launch event held ahead of the Mobile World Congress.

He said other, smaller Chinese vendors were consolidating, and most would disappear, as they did not have enough resources to invest in the same levels of research and development, marketing and branding.

“If your market share is less than 10 percent, you cannot be profitable. Over at 10 percent, at least, you can break even (and) over 15 percent you can make money,” he said.

He said Huawei’s smartphone business grew by around 30 percent in the last year, and would grow even faster this year, with strong growth in both January and so far this month.

Huawei could become the second-biggest smartphone maker this year or next, and sooner or later could be No. 1, he said, speaking after his company unveiled a new notebook PC and two Android tablets.

Huawei is set to launch its flagship P20 smartphone at a standalone event in Paris next month, where Yu said the brand would showcase “big and bold” innovation in camera technology.